What is the tree of life?
The tree of life shows how all life on earth is related. Each leaf represents a different species. The branches show how these many species evolved from common ancestors over billions of years. In our interactive tree of life you can explore the relationships between 2,235,076 species and wonder at 105,456 images on a single zoomable page.
- 2,235,076 species
- 105,456 images
Biodiversity and Conservation...
We want to help everyone appreciate biodiversity and the need to conserve it.
Red leaves on our tree of life show species known to be under threat of extinction.
Green leaves are either okay for now but might be nearly threatened.
Most leaves are grey meaning that it's not known how threatened they are.
What they say...
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The best tool I’ve seen for exploring the tree of life on this planet.
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Magnificent piece of software, brilliantly intuitive visualisation of the tree of life
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Wonderful idea and resource!
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I wanted to congratulate the OneZoom team on the amazing interface and reference resource that is OneZoom. Amazing job!
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I showed OneZoom to my colleagues as - honestly - the most impressive visualization of scientific results I have ever come across.
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This will revolutionize how we teach and understand the Tree of Life. It is an invaluable tool for communicating the grand scope of life's history.
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OneZoom is probably my favorite website of all time.
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Genius visualisation project mapping the entire tree of life into a single explorable diagram.
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OneZoom really helps get my mind around the complexities of the tree of life.
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I love the OneZoom tool - really easy to use and the visualization is great. I've just shared it with my 13 year old, who is a science geek - he loved it and is still playing with it!
Become a sponsor...
OneZoom is a registered non-profit in the UK, all our products are available for free. 882 people like you have helped us by making donations. Their names have appeared as sponsors on 1539 leaves of our tree of life leaves of our tree of life.
Only one name per leaf so get your favourite while you can, for yourself or as a gift.
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North pacific giant octopus
(Enteroctopus dofleini)Sponsored byJames Dylan Wolf Stout -
Black phoebe
(Sayornis nigricans)Sponsored byBarry Langdon-Lassagne -
Liverleaf
(Anemone hepatica)Sponsored forIsabel Mond — Esparros -
Small-leaved lime
(Tilia cordata)Sponsored forIsabel Mond -
European chestnut
(Castanea sativa)Sponsored forProf. David Mond -
Sitka spruce
(Picea sitchensis)Sponsored byRichard Mond -
Komodo dragon
(Varanus komodoensis)Sponsored forEmilio Ramos — Cambridge, UK -
Chestnut-mandibled toucan
(Ramphastos swainsonii)Sponsored byJoanne Elizabeth Gifford — To Honor Tilly-Napa, CA -
Common wood-pigeon
(Columba palumbus)Sponsored byGillian Rosindell -
Silverfish
(Ctenolepisma longicaudata)Sponsored byHenk van der Wal, Leiden -
Common beet
(Beta vulgaris)Sponsored forJanet Wood — Yum yum -
Eisenia fetidaSponsored byKirsten Moseng — Orlando, Florida, USA
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Maxillaria lepidotaSponsored byLogan Milligan
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Quaking aspen
(Populus tremuloides)Sponsored byPriscilla Spears -
Common cuttlefish
(Sepia officinalis)Sponsored forMichael Aaron McNeely — McNeely Family, South Bend, IN -
American black bear
(Ursus americanus)Sponsored forsam — my weird bear lover -
Dog rose
(Rosa canina)Sponsored forOlga Santiago — best wishes from Leo and Chloe -
Grape hyacinth
(Muscari racemosum)Sponsored byChloe, Leo, Alina, and Toke — one of our favourite plants -
Jorunna parvaSponsored byDeb Robicheau — Sea Bunnies are Magical
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Poinsettia
(Euphorbia pulcherrima)Sponsored forfarmor Pia and farfar Kim — best wishes from Leo and Chloe
What we've been up to...
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12 September 2023
The Guardian features One Zoom as one of its 50 weirdest, most wonderful corners of the web .
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30 November 2022
OneZoom features as an interactive part of The Whole of Nature – Forces, Orders, Boundaries exhibition at the Museum of Nature Hamburg, Germany. The exhibition combines science and art to show how nature can be ordered. -
29 September 2022
Donors can now renew their support of sponsored leaves. Sponsorships are only for a four year period, however those who do not renew will remain on our tree of life for the time being. Donors will get an e-mail reminder before their sponsored leaves expire. -
23 July 2022
OneZoom features as an interactive component of the Taxonomy: Our Lives Depend On It exhibition at Bishop Musuem , Honolulu, Hawai‘i. -
22 May 2022
Thank you to On The Edge for funding our latest project: tree tours. We will bring you a collection of guided tours around our tree of life explorer. These tree tours will take you to particularly interesting parts of the tree and give you more information about evolution, biodiversity and conservation as you go. You will be able to sit back and enjoy the tree tour, or hop off and explore freely around any of the tour stops.